Attendance Policies

Overview

Attendance Policies

Absences

Absences must be cleared with a note or a call from the parent/guardian within three days of the absence. After that time, the absence will be considered “unexcused” or “truant.” Unexcused absences will directly affect citizenship grades and may affect academic grades.

Missed work due to absences: students must make up work missed due to absences within a reasonable amount of time. The student must make arrangements with his/her teachers. Makeup will cover any work missed during collaborative class work, labs, and other such activities. Credit for makeup work for “unexcused” absences is allowed only after students attend Saturday school and at the discretion of the teacher(s).

EXCUSED ABSENCES

UNEXCUSED ABSENCES

Personal illness. School may require a doctor’s note, especially if absences are excessive.

Funeral services of parent, sibling, grandparent, or any relative living in the child’s immediate household. Limited to one day in California and three days out of state.

Personal or family problems, including oversleeping (“alarm didn’t go off”), babysitting or taking care of other family members.

Personal court appearance. Requires verification.

Going out of town for vacation or any reason not excused.

District-recognized religious holiday.

Going to work with parent or other family members.

Students with an excess of both excused and unexcused absences (more than five per grading period) may adversely impact their academic grades, as instructional time with the teacher is extremely valuable to learning the material. In addition, certain classroom activities such as science labs and Socratic seminars warrant a challenging makeup assignment that would require extensive independent time and commitment.

Detention

Detention is assigned to students by staff member and is held after school. Participation in athletic competitions/practice, clubs, student governance, or other school-sponsored events does not excuse students from detention. Failure to attend detention will result in additional detentions, Saturday School, Lunch Detention, or In-School Suspension (ISS) and may result in the inability to participate in school-sponsored events, including athletics, ASB, clubs, and school dances.

Tardiness

Tardiness is not only an annoyance to the teacher and pupils, but is also a hindrance to the orderly progress of learning. A student is considered tardy if he/she is not in his/her assigned seat when the tardy bell starts to ring. Tardies of 30 minutes or more will be recorded as truancies. Students who arrive at school after the first class begins must sign in at the school office.

First Unexcused Tardy:The teacher will record the first unexcused tardy and give the student a verbal warning.

Second Unexcused Tardy: The teacher will record the second unexcused tardy, send a notice to the administration by the end of the day, lower the citizenship grade to no higher than a “G” for the grading period and call home to inform the parent/guardian.

Third Unexcused Tardy: The teacher will record the third unexcused tardy, send a notice to the administrative office by the end of the day (Administrative Detention), lower the citizenship grade to no higher than an “S” for the grading period and call home to inform the parent/guardian. Student is not to be sent to the office with the notice.

Fourth Unexcused Tardy: The teacher will record the fourth unexcused tardy, send a notice to the administrative office by the end of the day (Saturday School, ISS, or lunch detention), lower the citizenship grade to no higher than an “N” for the grading period and call home to inform the parent/guardian. Student is not to be sent to the office with the notice.

Habitual Tardiness: The teacher will record the unexcused tardy, and send a notice to the administrative office by the end of the day. The student’s parent/guardian will be contacted for a mandatory meeting. Appropriate action will be taken, which may include lunch and/or after school detention, Saturday School, ISS or formal suspension. The student’s citizenship grade will be lowered to a “U”. Student is not to be sent to the office with the notice.

Truancy

Any absence from school without a valid excuse is considered to be a truancy. Each truancy will result in a lowered citizenship grade and may reflect upon scholarship. Students with chronic truancies will be required to attend Saturday School and/or be referred to the principal.

First Truancy: The teacher will record the first truancy, warn the student, have a telephone conference with parent/guardian, and lower the citizenship grade to no higher than a “G” for the grading period.

Second Truancy: The teacher will record the second truancy, send a referral to the principal or counselor by the end of the day (Saturday School/Parent Conference), have a telephone conference with the parent/guardian, and lower the citizenship grade to no higher than an “S” for the grading period. Student is not to be sent to the office with the referral.

Third Truancy: The teacher will record the third truancy, send a referral to the site administrator or counselor by the end of theday (Saturday School/Parent Conference), and have a telephone conference with the parent/guardian, and lower the citizenship grade to no higher than an “N” for the grading period. Student is not to be sent to the office with the referral.

Habitual Truancy: Continued truancies will be regarded as habitual. The teacher will record the truancies, inform the appropriate administrator, and have a telephone conference with the parent/guardian. The administrator will assign Saturday School for each truancy and recommend the student to the site district counselor and the Student Study Team (SST). A meeting with the parent/guardian will be arranged. The citizenship grade will be a “U.”

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1954 Komet Way San Diego, CA 92111

Phone(858) 496-8370

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